Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said China’s attempts to broker peace in Ukraine are likely to only help Russia rearm and prolong the conflict.
In a statement Monday, Joly said the only way to end the war was for Russian President Vladimir Putin to “lay down his arms and withdraw his troops from Ukraine”. She accused Moscow of turning to Beijing with a false premise.
“Make no mistake: the Russian regime is trying to buy time to restock, recruit and re-attack,” Ms. Joly said in a statement.
“A ceasefire that does not require the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory only benefits Putin, by freezing the conflict before his losses become even greater. »
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Russia on Monday for peace talks after Beijing tabled a proposal calling for an end to the conflict, although Xi has no plans to visit Kiev.
Canada and the other G7 countries have said since last October that they would support Ukraine “as long as it takes” with humanitarian and military assistance.
Yet developing countries have complained of feeling forced to choose sides between invading Russia and opposing it from the West.
At last month’s Munich Security Conference, countries like Colombia argued that the conflict was diverting funding and attention from the climate crisis, while others, like Namibia, said the Emphasis should be on ending the violence rather than seeking to assign blame.
Beijing argued along the same lines and accused Western powers of aggravating the conflict through arms shipments.
“Our position has always been that dialogue and negotiation are a fundamental way out of the Ukrainian crisis, and that the international community should play a constructive role,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang said on Monday. Wenbin.
Wang also dismissed reports that the US State Department had found Chinese-made ammunition in Ukraine.
“It was the United States, not China, that sent weapons to the battlefields in Ukraine. The United States must stop fueling the fight with more weapons and fanning the flame, stop pointing the finger at other countries or seek to coerce and intimidate them, and play a constructive role,” supported Mr. Wang.
“President Xi’s visit is a journey of friendship, a journey of cooperation and a journey of peace. »